Creating ice-cream treats is a perfect project for parents and kids to do. Kids are experts at dreaming up great combinations, based on favorite candies or snacks. To keep the ice cream from melting, assemble all the components ahead of time. Then scoop, spoon, dollop, drizzle, and sprinkle away.

Strawberry Pink Split
For the strawberry pink split, opposite, we split strawberries instead of bananas, built a small mountain of ice cream, and smothered it in a homemade strawberry sauce. At the summit: whipped cream tinted pink with maraschino juice, sprinkles, and, of course, a cherry. Serve with shortbread cookies wedged into the side.

Banana Flowers
These enticing ice-cream blossoms are a sweet twist on the boat-shaped banana split. To make a flower, spoon a dollop of sticky marshmallow cream into the bottom of a small, shallow bowl; insert sliced banana petals all around. Add one large scoop of ice cream and plenty of your favorite sauce, then finish as extravagantly as you please.

Peppermint Fudge Parfait
Parfait means "perfect" in French, and the perfection of the parfait -- a tall, skinny sundae made in alternating layers -- is perfectly clear. Crushed peppermint candies add a cool, minty taste and a bit of crunch to this version. To top it off, a pouf of whipped cream is peppered with more candy bits.

Butterscotch Popcorn Sundae
Toss something unexpected on a teacup sundae. Crunchy, chewy toffee popcorn is a happy addition to this golden treat, which is drenched in a rich butterscotch sauce. The slight saltiness of the popcorn brings out the sweetness of the other ingredients.

Peanut Butter Cupful
Peanut butter and chocolate meet again in this irresistible sundae. To make, spoon hot fudge into a dish, add a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream and lots of peanut butter sauce, then crown with whipped cream and a sprinkling of chopped peanuts. Before starting, you can dip the dish's rim in melted chocolate chips and chopped peanuts.